Fascinated by the interactions between different microbes. Most microbial life on the planet lives in biofilms or aggregations and I am trying to understand better how and when microbes find it advantageous to stay together in a biofilm or leave it to find other and better places to live. More specifically, I want to figure out if this is mainly based on chance or if it is an active decision the different species make and if it is something we can predict (and thus use to our advantage).
I obtained a master’s degree in bio-engineering at Ghent University (BE) and a master’s degree in marine biotechnology at Stirling University (UK). Later I went on obtaining my PhD in bio-engineering here at CMET studying interactions between different partners in a high-pressure (deep-sea simulation) oil degrading co-culture with a focus on members of the genus Alcanivorax as the primary degraders.
Apart from that, I enjoy science communication a lot, working on social media content for both the lab (CMET) and the YBSM (of which I am a board member) as well as taking part in science fairs such as the Microorganism Day at the museum of natural sciences in Brussels.
Key publications
- Specialization of Alcanivorax species in colonizing diverse plastics; V Mattelin, A Rombouts, J Van Landuyt, A Scoma, N Boon; Environmental Microbiology 26 (10), e16698
- 80 years later: Marine sediments still influenced by an old war ship; J Van Landuyt, K Kundu, S Van Haelst, M Neyts, K Parmentier, …; Frontiers in Marine Science 9, 1017136
- Enhanced removal of warfare agent tri-nitro-toluene by a Methylophaga-dominated microbiome; K Kundu, J Van Landuyt, V Mattelin, B Martin, M Neyts, K Parmentier, …; Marine Pollution Bulletin 190, 114866
- Impact of operational conditions on drinking water biofilm dynamics and coliform invasion potential; F Waegenaar, C García-Timermans, J Van Landuyt, B De Gusseme, …; Applied and Environmental Microbiology 90 (5), e00042-24
- Microbial enrichment, functional characterization and isolation from a cold seep yield piezotolerant obligate hydrocarbon degraders; J Van Landuyt, L Cimmino, C Dumolin, I Chatzigiannidou, F Taveirne, …; FEMS microbiology ecology 96 (9), fiaa097